Engine



May 26, 1942. v. o. MARTIN ENGINE Filed Feb. 15, 1941 1n venior A iiomey Patented May 26, 1942 UNITED STAT E S PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to engines and more particularly to piston construction for engines to permit more power and smoother operation to be had by the engine with a less amount of fuel as would be utilized in an engine of an ordinary construction. The primary object of this invention is the provision of a piston construction wherein the reactionary principle of driving force may be had thereto in addition to the usual expansion of the fuel against said piston construction.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a conventional type of engine equipped with a piston construction constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View illustrating the piston.

The engine is indicated as an entirety by the character 5, primarily including a cylinder 6, base I for rotatably supporting a crank shaft 8, a valve means for admitting and exhausting fuel to the cylinder of the engine and a connecting rod 9 connected to the crank of the crank shaft and to a piston l forming the subject matter of the present invention.

A cavity l l is formed in the head of the piston and opens outwardly through the top surface of the piston. The piston on its compression stroke compresses the fuel within the cavity as well as within the space occurring between the piston and the walls of the cylinder and it is proposed to ignite the fuel within the cavity H so that the fuel when ignited will act on the reactionary principle initially and then expand as usual within the cylinder for driving the piston. The reactionary action of the fuel within the cavity is entirely against the walls of the cavity and consequently against the piston in the direction of driving said piston on its power stroke.

To give a simplified way in which the fuel may be exploded in the cavity H a spark plug I2 is mounted in the Walls of the cavity to which an electric conductor i3 is connected leading outwardly from the engine by way of an opening provided in the base 1.

If desired, a perforated plate l5 may overlie the cavity and is secured to the piston head in any Well known manner. The ignited fuel expanding in the cavity may pass through the perforated plate in the form of a plurality of streams acting directly against the head of the cylinder all of which tends to give the reactionary action of the burning fuel on the piston.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: V

1. In an engine including a cylinder and means for introducing fuel into the cylinder and means for allowing exhaust to escape therefrom, a reciprocal piston in said cylinder and having a cavity in the wall thereof opposite an end wall of the cylinder in which the fuel is compressed, and a spark plug having its spark gap in the cavity for igniting the fuel within the cavity to permit the initial expansion of the fuel to be on the reactionary principle directly against the piston with the further expansion of the fuel in the cylinder against the walls of said cylinder and the piston.

2. In an engine including a cylinder and means for introducing fuel into the cylinder and means for allowing exhaust to escape therefrom, a reciprocal piston in said cylinder and having a cavity in the wall thereof opposite an end wall of the cylinder in which the fuel is compressed, a spark plug having its spark gap located in the cavity for igniting the fuel within the cavity to permit the initial expansion of the fuel to be on the reactionary principle directly against the piston with the further expansion of the fuel in the cylinder against the walls of said cylinder and the piston, and a perforated plate covering said cavity and secured to the piston to permit the expanding fuel to pass therethrough and to form a plurality of streams against the end wall of the cylinder.

VERNE O. MARTIN. 

